LETTERS No sin in tolerance
Sir: M a heretical Protestant, it would appear to me that Piers Paul Read's con- cern for Paul Johnson's orthodoxy (`The danger to Paul', 17 October) stems from Mr Johnson's readiness to attend an Angli- can communion service and his approval of the Prime Minister's participation in the Catholic Mass. May I remind Mr Read that it is from the Lord's table that the Sacra- ments are received — it is not the posses- sion of any particular denomination. He must be familiar with the words of the Apostle Paul: 'Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinIceth unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.' A supplicant comes to the Lord's table not trusting in his own righteousness, as the Book of Common Prayer puts it, but in Christ's manifold and great mercies.
No denomination has the right to come between Christ and the sinner for whom he died. He is challenged to examine himself, not to submit to the judgment of others. Regrettably the Catholic Church has a long history of interposing itself between the sin- ner and the Saviour. It is therefore refresh- ing to see that Paul Johnson is disturbed by signs of resurgent intolerance within the Church he supports with such devotion. Those of us who 'keep our eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith', have no such worries.
RA. Massie-Blomfield Cavina School, PO Box 43090, Nairobi, Kenya
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